Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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And did I mention, I really hated the ending? 

When We Ride by Rex Ogle

February 26, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I hate the ending of When We Ride by Rex Ogle. I cannot believe that Rex Ogle is the same Rex Ogle that wrote the graphic novels Four Eyes and Pizza Face. Or Swan Lake: Quest for the Kingdoms or the Doña Quixote series (as Rey Tercoero).  Have I mentioned I hated the ending of Ogle’s book? I understand why it had to be this way, but still, I hated the ending. Anyway, up to that point (so guess a decent track record, at the […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Health, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: diversity, drug dealers, drugs, family, friendship, prejudice, Racism, Rex Ogle, Social Themes, urban life, violence

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:70 · Genres: Fiction, Health, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: diversity, drug dealers, drugs, family, friendship, prejudice, Racism, Rex Ogle, Social Themes, urban life, violence ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

New place, new community, new home

The Garlic Eaters by Madison Safer

December 2, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

As a bookseller I have access to books in multiple ways. The easiest way is to have online reader copies. I was granted access to The Garlic Eaters by Madison Safer this way. I was going to wait to read it (as it is due in July 2026, so I had plenty of time to read) but decided why not? I needed something that seemed quick and easy. There is nothing quick or easy about things. You are getting a deep story about displacement from […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Health, History, Poetry, Religion Tagged With: family, friendship, jewish, Madison Safer, prejudice, rascism, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:533 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Health, History, Poetry, Religion · Tags: family, friendship, jewish, Madison Safer, prejudice, rascism, Social Themes ·
Rating:
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War and a family

Shell Song: Based on a True Family Story by Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson

April 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Shell Song: Based on a True Family Story by Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson and also illustrated by Fujimoto-Johnson is currently available, but I read via an online reader copy. The start of the story is set right before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Afterwards, the narrator’s grandfather is sent to an internment camp with other men. In age appropriate language (at least five and up) the experiences of the grandfather and family back home unfold. As set in Hawaii, seashells will play a role in keeping the […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Fiction, Health, History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: 20th Century, Asian-American, family, Japanese Americans, Pearl Harbor, prejudice, Racism, Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson, Social Themes, World War II

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:214 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Fiction, Health, History, Non-Fiction · Tags: 20th Century, Asian-American, family, Japanese Americans, Pearl Harbor, prejudice, Racism, Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson, Social Themes, World War II ·
Rating:
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Worth the hype!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

December 26, 2021 by crystalclear Leave a Comment

This book is a delight.  It is charming, and thought provoking, and overall just lovely.  It takes place in a world not too far off from our own, only there is magic.  The magic may have been hidden away for quite some time, but those who were magical were probably forced to show themselves.  The “people in charge” decided that in order to “include” these magical beings into society, they must be registered.  For what purpose remains unclear.     Mr. Linus Baker, our protagonist, works […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction Tagged With: CBR13, government, LGBTQ, magic, orphans, prejudice, TJ Klune

crystalclear's CBR13 Review No:45 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction · Tags: CBR13, government, LGBTQ, magic, orphans, prejudice, TJ Klune ·
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Black Lives Matter in Norway too

Eg snakkar om det heile tida (I talk about it all the time) by Camara Lundestad Joof

Ikkje ver redd sånne som meg (Don't be afraid of people like me) by Sumeya Jirde Ali

July 25, 2021 by Malin Leave a Comment

Eg snakkar om det heile tida (I talk about it all the time) – 5 stars Official book description: I call a friend. Did the man in the bar call me a black b*tch when I didn’t want to give him my number? That time we had arranged to drink beer, but we drank tequila instead? She goes quiet. No. He called you the n-word. Thank you, I say. Thank you for remembering. I talk about it all the time is a witness statement, an […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Non-Fiction Tagged With: auto-biographical, Camara Lundestad Joof, CBR13, Eg snakkar om det heile tida, essays, Ikkje ver redd sånne som meg, Malin, non fiction, Norwegian, Nynorsk, prejudice, Racism, Sumeya Jirde Ali

Malin's CBR13 Review No:23 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Non-Fiction · Tags: auto-biographical, Camara Lundestad Joof, CBR13, Eg snakkar om det heile tida, essays, Ikkje ver redd sånne som meg, Malin, non fiction, Norwegian, Nynorsk, prejudice, Racism, Sumeya Jirde Ali ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“These scratches are a history. They tell a story.”

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

May 31, 2021 by Mobius_Walker Leave a Comment

Linus Baker is a cog in a bureaucratic machine. He is a case worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, or DICOMY. He is average in nearly every way: average build, average house, average desk job. Everything in his life is routine from his bus ride to work, to grinning and bearing it when he has to put up with his boss on a power-trip or his neighbor butting her way into his life, to the detailed reports he completes for all of […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction Tagged With: bureaucracy, LGBTQ, magic, magical youth, orphanage, prejudice, The house in the cerulean sea, TJ Klune

Mobius_Walker's CBR13 Review No:23 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction · Tags: bureaucracy, LGBTQ, magic, magical youth, orphanage, prejudice, The house in the cerulean sea, TJ Klune ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Tracy
    on Early Fantasy: Long Stories in Which Not Much Happens
    That almost sounds "so bad it's good," and I might need to check it out.
  • louise
    on High expectations led to disappointment
    I totally agree with what you wrote. I already read this book and found it extremely complicated to understand the...
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    Just finished this amazing story. Eyes are still damp. I had it queued on my Libby app for several weeks...
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